Fading Shadows
by Madame Magic
Summary: Stella wasn't someone easily fooled and she rarely believed in anything other than what she could prove. But with Henry constantly trying to make her believe in that storybook, telling her she Alice from Alice in Wonderland, and him bringing his birth mom back. It's starting to get harder to not believe. To top it off she keeps seeing things. Henry's just getting to her. Right?


_"__I have to have control of myself,  
My thoughts,  
My mind,_

_Cause the way it's going down,  
In my life,  
I feel like a prisoner in a light,  
Are you feeling me,_

_Cause the way you make my,  
Break my,  
Shake my walls around,  
I feel like I'm breaking out,_

Hurry Up And Save Me – Tiffany Giardina

**Chapter 1: Pilot**

Stella POV

I sat on the couch as I nervously picked at the paint on my nails and watched as Madame Mayor yelled angrily at Graham, the Sheriff, for not finding Henry yet. Henry was Madame Mayor's son, I was his babysitter, and he had been missing for several hours. The last time I saw him, I was apparently the last to see him, was when I was dropping him off at the front steps of his school. I tried desperately to block out the sound of Madame Mayor's frustrated yelling by focusing on the rhythmic '_tick-tock, tick-tock' _of the large grandfather clock that was in Madame Mayor's living room. It wasn't working. I wasn't sure why she was yelling at Graham, it wasn't his fault that he couldn't find Henry. There was a good possibility that Henry wasn't even in Storybrooke anymore. Knowing Henry, I wouldn't put it past him to have run off somewhere. I was just incredibly frustrated that I didn't know where he was, or why he'd run off.

Not being able to take Madame Mayor's yelling anymore, I stood up from the couch and wiped away the tears on my face. I swear that munchkin was dead when I found him. As I began moving towards the door I froze as I looked out the window. Oh my god. "Madame Mayor," I said softly, but I got no response. "Madame Mayor," I said a little bit louder, yet she was still preoccupied with yelling at Graham. "Madame Mayor!" I finally shouted as I tore my gaze away from the window to look at woman I was speaking to.

She finally gave me her attention and glared at my shouting at her. "What Stella?!" She snapped. Any other time that voice would have probably both pissed me off and terrified me, but not right now.

"Henry's outside." I told her. In an instant, her facial expression went from annoyed and anxious to an expression of pure relief. She then did something I wasn't even aware she was capable of; she ran… and in heels too. The moment Madame Mayor ran out of the door, I followed closely behind. I was also aware that Graham was also following her out the door, although his pace was much calmer than mine and the mayor's.

As Madame Mayor rushed out the front door, she called out his name, "Henry?" She ran over to him. "Henry." She said as she pulled him into a tight hug. This was one of the rare moments that Madame Mayor seemed like a caring and worried mother. She didn't have a whole lot of those moments. It was kind of… touching. I waited about a foot away from Madame Mayor and Henry while Graham lingered by the door. "Oh, are you ok?" She asked him worriedly. I think it might be the first time that I _really_ heard the concern in her voice. "Where have you been? What happened?" She asked him as she released him and stood up to her full height.

I watched as he looked up at Madame Mayor, with more pain than any ten year old should know, and he told her, "I found my real mom." He ran into the house as I noticed the other woman for the first time. She was pretty and blonde and probably not even thirty. She wore a red leather jacket and she looked both incredibly awkward and incredibly sympathetic.

Madame Mayor looked at the woman with wide eyes. It was also when I noticed that wetness on Madame Mayor's cheeks. Apparently I wasn't the only one that had been crying. "You're Henry's birth mother?" She asked the woman, her tone colored with total shock. She had not seen this coming, not at all.

"Hi." The woman said, from the tone of her voice she seemed nice.

"Stella." Graham said and I turned to look at him. "Why don't you come inside with me to check on the lad? To make sure he's alright." He said and I sighed. I wanted to watch the interaction between the two women, stuff like this doesn't happen often in Storybrooke… or ever. Actually, nothing ever happens in Storybrooke, it's why we only have one police officer. That would be Graham, who was the Sheriff.

But he knew how to get me to come with him. Graham knows very well that my protectiveness of Henry would always beat my curiosity of watching what might happen during the conversation between the two other women. Finally I moved towards him and said, "Alright, let's go check on the munchkin."

"We'll just go check on the lad, make sure he's alright." Graham told the two other women as we walked back inside the large house. When we reached the foot of the stairs, Graham gently stopped me before we could begin walking up to Henry's room. "Stella, are you alright? I know how worried you were while the lad was gone." He asked me, his voice laced with obvious concern.

I smiled softly at him; he was always worried about me. "Now that's he here, I'm much better. Once we go up there and I can assure myself that he hasn't gotten any injuries, I'll be fine." I told him, but he didn't look convinced. "Graham, I promise you that I'm fine. Would you like me to pinkie promise? Because I'll pinkie promise and pinkie promises are serious business." I said seriously and he couldn't help but grin.

The moment he grinned, I couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, let's go." He said and I could tell from his voice that he was trying not to laugh as well. I turned and jogged up the steps while Graham walked up the stairs like a normal person. Eh, normal is boring anyways.

As soon I reached the second story, I rushed to Henry's room. He was sitting on his bed with a comic book in his hands. I immediately rush over to the bed and pull him into a tight hug. "Henry! God, what were you thinking? Do you have any idea how worried I was?" I said before pulling away from him. "Are you alright? Do you have any injuries? I can't believe you left!" I spoke quickly and Henry held his hands out in front of him as both a sign of surrender and to signal for me to breathe.

"Ellie I'm really sorry that I worried you. Yes, I'm alright. No, I don't have any injuries. But I had to find her." Henry said and after I glanced over him and determined that he didn't seem to have any injuries, I nodded.

"Wait." I said as I looked at him. "What do you mean you 'had to find her'? Where did you find her anyways?"

Henry looked out his open door. Graham still hadn't come in yet. Knowing Graham, he was probably waiting by the stairs for me to tell him to come on in. "She's the one, Ellie." He told me. "She's the one that's going to break The Curse." After a moment he added, "Oh, and I found her in Boston." My jaw dropped as I looked at him.

"You went to _Boston_? Henry anything could have happened to you! And you know it wasn't right for you to trick her to come back with you, whether she's your birth mother or not. You don't even have any proof that the whole thing is even real." I told him and before he could say anything I added, "However, I will give you the benefit of the doubt that it might be real because I don't want you to be able to say 'I told you so' if it turns out to be true. But how do you know that she's the one that supposed to break The Curse anyways?"

"So you believe?" Henry asked hopefully.

I paused for a moment before saying, "I'm saying I don't not believe, but how do you know that she's the one that supposed to break The Curse anyways?"

Before he can answer, there is a knock on the doorframe. It's Graham. "Hey lad, you gave your mom and Stella quite a scare today. Are you alright?" Graham asked him.

"I'm fine. Thanks." Henry replied.

"Well then I best be off." Graham said and I stood and hugged him tightly. "Goodnight lad. Stella, try and stay out of trouble." He said as we pulled apart.

I grinned at him. "No promises." I told him. "Goodnight Graham." As he left, I looked back at Henry. "Look, why don't you change and get ready for bed? It's been a long day." I suggested and when he nodded, I stepped out of the room and propped against the rail that gave a view onto the first floor.

As I stepped out, I caught the last bit of whatever Graham was saying. "…being a tired little boy, Henry's fine." Graham assured her.

"Thank you Sheriff." Madame Mayor replied and he turned and walked out the front door. "I'm sorry he dragged you out of your life. I really don't know what's gotten into him." She apologized to the blonde woman. I couldn't help but scoff quietly. She wasn't sorry that Henry brought her here; she didn't like that Henry had found the other woman at all.

"Kid's having a rough time. It happens." The woman told her and then the door to the room they walked into shut and I couldn't hear them anymore. The blonde was right though. Henry was having an incredibly hard time. He didn't have many friends, I actually didn't know if he had any friends other than me, and he truly believed that Madame Mayor didn't love him.

When he started to believe that she was The Evil Queen, I couldn't stop the part of me that kind of believed him. The woman was a downright witch to anyone that got on her bad side. Shaking my head, I turned and walked back into Henry's bedroom. He had changed into a thing of plaid pajamas and he was lying in his bed. "Alright munchkin, time for bed." I said.

"I'm not a munchkin!" He replied immediately.

"Of _course_ not, because that would be absolutely, positively absurd. But me being Alice from Wonderland is completely alright." I said sarcastically as I took his comic book and put it on top of the bookcase.

"You're not _from_ Wonderland. You're Alice Kingsleigh from London-" He started to say.

I cut him off. "Yada, yada I know. I know. But right now you need to go to sleep and Henry… no more adventures." I told him but I gave him a small smile. "At least, not without me."

"Are you leaving?" He asked me.

Nodding I replied, "Yeah, unless Madame Mayor tells me to stay. I need to get home. You know she'll start to worry." I pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow munchkin man." I assured him before I switched off the lamp. "Get some sleep."

"Night Ellie, love you." Henry said as he shifted to get comfortable.

"Night munchkin, love you too." I told him as I exited his bedroom, shutting the door softly behind me. I walked down the steps and as I reached the bottom of the stairs, the door where the blonde woman and Madame Mayor had been opened and the two of them exited. "Madame Mayor, do you need me to stay or-" I started to ask.

She cut me off. "No, it's alright. You should get home. It's been a long day for all of us." Madame Mayor told me. Today must be one of Madame Mayor's really rare days. She's actually being, somewhat, polite to me.

"Alright, goodnight Madame Mayor," I said before grabbing my backpack and following the blonde out the door. As we reached the sidewalk I glanced at the other woman. "Well goodnight Miss…" I trailed off, not knowing her last name.

"Swan. Emma Swan." She replied. How James Bond of her. "And please, call me Emma."

"Well then goodnight… Emma." I said.

"Goodnight…" Emma trailed off when she realized that she didn't know my name.

"Stella." I informed her.

"Goodnight, Stella." She said.

"Safe travels." I said despite the feeling that was settling in my stomach. It was telling me that she wasn't going anywhere.

* * *

_I stood in a pale blue dress that flared slightly at my waist before falling elegantly to the floor. As I walked into the chambers of Snow White and Prince Charming, Snow White told him, "I don't want to do this." She walked back into the room from the balcony, completely unaware of my presence._

_"__It has to be you." Charming told her from where he stood at the table. For as long as I'd known him, he'd always been good at a putting on a brave face when he needed to._

_"__I'm not leaving you." Snow refused as she walked towards him and took a hold of his shirt._

_"__What am I then? Chopped liver?" I said sarcastically as I gave her a small, sad smile._

_When she spotted me, she gasped and rushed towards me. "Alice! What are you doing here? I thought you'd left." She asked me as she hugged me tightly, well as tightly as someone can when they could go into labor any minute._

_"__Snow, don't you have any faith in me? I would never leave you guys. I had planned on going to the White Rabbit, I'd heard people mentioning that their children saw him, but he never stays long enough for me to catch him. And I don't have enough time to go on a pointless chase." I assured her._

_"__The White Rabbit?" Charming asked me as he came to stand next to his wife._

_I nodded and explained. "The White Rabbit is how I got to Wonderland. He can open portals to different dimensions. I had hoped to catch him, so that you wouldn't have to be separated. But he's a sneaky little rabbit and by the time I reach the village, he'll be long gone and then I would have risked not getting back here in time." I said and Snow gave me a small smile._

_"__Thank you for trying." She told me. "But I can't leave you, either of you." Snow was getting teary eyed._

_"__Snow, Charming's right, you have to." I tried telling her._

_"__It's the only way." Charming added. "You'll go in there and be safe from the curse."_

_Her voice was shaky as Snow said, "He said it would be on her _28th _birthday."_

_"__What's 28 years when you have eternal love?" He asked Snow and I suddenly felt like I was intruding on a very personal, very _private_moment._

_"__Don't worry Snow, he'll have me to keep him company." I said playfully, trying to calm her._

_It seemed to work, at the very least it worked on Charming. He smiled at me and said, "How comforting." Then he turned back to Snow and told her, "I have faith. You'll save me as I did you." Snow looked at him before pulling him into a passionate kiss. I quickly looked away, this time I _knew_I was intruding on a personal moment. I looked back when I heard her pull away abruptly._

_She was looking at Charming with a wide eyed, panicked expression. "Snow?" I asked as I reached for her shoulder._

_"__What is it?" Charming asked her worriedly._

_"__What's wrong?" I spoke immediately after he did. _

_Her face contorted in pain and she locked her gaze on Charming. "Baby…" She breathed. "She's coming."_

_"__Oh god." I gasped. The baby can't come, not now._

_"__Alice, go get the Blue Fairy, hurry!" Charming told me and I didn't waste a moment before I turned on my heel and ran from the room. This can't be happening. Snow was supposed to get some semblance of a happy ending. The baby wasn't supposed to come now. I pulled the floor length dress up to my mid-calf as I ran._

_"__Blue!" I screamed. "Blue Fairy where are you?" I tore through the hallways looking for the fairy. My feet hit the floor with loud clacks from the heels I wore. "I don't have time for this crap!" I shout to myself as I kick off the shoes and pull out the knife that I kept hidden in a thigh strap and cut the dress to knee length. I had to hurry; we couldn't possibly have much time left._

_Then I was running again. I made it to the end of the hallway but as I turned to head to the Blue Fairy's quarters I stopped at the sudden sound that rang throughout the castle. It was Grumpy's frightened voice. "It's here!" He shouted. "The Curse is here!" And then the chime of the warning bell echoed through the halls._

_"__Oh god." I breathed. "It's here."_

* * *

I sat in the classroom discreetly reading my book as my teacher was talking. Since I already knew the stuff she was talking about, I saw no real reason to pay attention. It was times like this that I wished that Mary Margaret was my teacher. That woman had a gift of making just about anything interesting, and sadly it was a while before school would be over for the day and I was wishing for something to happen so that I could get out of class. Not a moment too soon, the intercom in the classroom came on. "Mrs. Holt, I need Stella Blanchard for checkout." Mrs. Collins said. She was the woman that worked in the front office.

After Mrs. Holt confirmed to Mrs. Collins that I was on my way and signaled for me to go, I stood and said, "Bye Mrs. Holt." She gave me a smile as I walked out of the classroom, shutting the door behind me. As I walked to the front office, my black Mary Jane heels made thumping noises against the tiled floor. When I got to the office I was thoroughly surprised to see Madame Mayor waiting. "Madame Mayor?" I asked.

"Come on, we need to go." She said quickly as she turned on her heel, leaving me to follow her out the door.

As we walked I couldn't help but sarcastically ask, "Are you even on my checkout list?"

"I don't need to be, I'm the mayor." She said with an undertone of cockiness in her voice.

Today obviously wasn't going to be one of her nice days. "What's going on, _Madame Mayor_? Why did you check me out?" I asked somewhat irritably. I had no intention of telling her that I was relieved to get out of school.

"Henry's gone again." She said as we got into her car. I mentally cursed; I told Henry to not do this kind of stuff, at least not without me. We sped to the police station and she quickly put her car in park as we got out. As we walked swiftly towards the front door, Leroy came from the police station and walked past us. He also shot Madame Mayor a nasty look as he went. "Graham, Henry's run away again. We have to-" She called out, and she seemed just a wee bit emotional. I wonder where it's real concern or not. Dang it, Henry's getting into my head with this fairytale thing. "What is she doing here?" She asked as I spotted Emma in a jail cell.

"Do you know where he is?" I asked Emma as Madame Mayor walked swiftly to the blonde.

"Honey, I haven't seen him since I dropped him at the Mayor's house and I got a pretty good alibi." Emma said. Ok, if she keeps up this nonchalant attitude I might end up hitting her. Henry's missing and she seems totally unconcerned. Well, I'm not particularly concerned either, but I have a good reason to not be concerned. Emma has absolutely no idea where he is, she should be very concerned. The blonde in the jail cell looked at Madame Mayor.

"Yeah, well, he wasn't in his room this morning." Madame Mayor told her. She did not appear to like Henry's other mother in the least.

"Did you try his friends?" Emma asked.

"He doesn't really have any. He's kind of a loner." Madame Mayor replied.

"Every kid has friends." Emma said and there was something in her voice, but I didn't bother to think about it now.

At the same time as Emma spoke, I said, "Am I chopped liver?"

Madame Mayor turned her attention to me. "Have you seen him?" She asked.

"Well no, but-" I started.

She cut me off, "Then it doesn't matter." Her rudeness is exactly why I have no intention of telling her that I'm almost positive that he's where I think he is. Well that's not true; I didn't have any intentions of telling her anyways.

"Did you check his computer? If he's close to someone, he'd be emailing them." Emma said.

"And you know this how?" Regina asked her.

"Finding people's what I do. Here's an idea how 'bout you guys let me out and I'll help you find him." Emma suggested.

"Says the person willing to say anything to get out." I muttered under my breath. Apparently, both Emma and Graham heard my little comment. She was glaring at me, while Graham was grinning.

Graham directed his attention back to the blonde in the jail cell. "If I let you out, you won't run?" He asked her.

Emma gave him this look like his question was the stupidest one she'd ever heard. It caused me to have an itty bitty urge to punch her in the face. "No, I won't run." She told him. How could someone with this kind of attitude problem being the biological mother of someone as sweet as Henry? "Now let me out." She demanded. Graham sighed before he unlocked her cell.

I looked between Graham, Emma, and Madame Mayor before saying, "I'm riding with Graham."

Madame Mayor looked over at me. "What?" She asked.

"Do you really think I'm going to get back into a car with a temperamental woman? Um… how bout no?" I said sarcastically. I probably used too much sarcasm, but Emma's irritated me. "So let's go Graham." I said as I grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and pulled him out the front door. He laughed and let me pull him. When we got to his cop car I turned and held out my hand expectantly. "Mmkay, now keys." I said.

"Mmkay, no." He said, mimicking my voice. "Now cooperate or I'll put you in the back." He told me and I sighed dramatically before walking over to the passenger's seat.

"It wouldn't be the first time." I said as I slid into the car. "It would be a first without handcuffs." I added as an afterthought. When he rolled his eyes I shot him a playful grin.

* * *

When we arrived at Madame Mayor's house, we quickly rushed up the stairs to his bedroom. After his email was pulled up, we saw that it had been cleared. "Smart kid, cleared his inbox. I'm smart too." Emma said and I rolled my eyes. Is she unaware that part of a child's intelligence comes from the genetics they get from their parents? So yeah, if she was smart, more than likely he'd be smart too. "A little hard disk recovery utility I like to use." She said to Graham as she plugged something into Henry's computer.

"I'm a bit more old fashion in my techniques. Pounding the pavement, knocking on doors that sort of thing." Graham said from where he had knelt beside her.

"Hitting on women." I added under my breath. He seemed to be the only one to hear me because he shot me a look to which I replied with a sugary sweet smile.

"You're on salary, I get paid for delivery. Pounding the pavement is not a luxury I get." Emma pointed out as Henry's previously deleted emails popped up on the screen. "Huh, there's a receipt for a website _'__Who's Your '_ it's expensive, he has a credit card?"

"He's ten." I said sarcastically. I mean that's just a dumb question. What kind of ten year old would have a credit card?

"Well he used one." Emma said as I looked closer at the screen and read the information. At the top it read '_Thank you for using our services to locate your birth mother. Your receipt for $265.50 and your mother's contact information are attached to this email.'_ "Let's pull up a transaction record." She said before she clicked something and the transaction record popped up.

It said:  
**Transaction Details  
**_Transaction Type: Credit Card  
Payer Name: Mary Margaret Blanchard  
Credit Card Number: ****** ***** ***** 0018  
Order Number: 0020733_

I didn't bother to try and see if there was anything else that I should have read. My attention kept getting drawn back to the payer name. "Mary Margaret." I whispered.

"Mary Margaret Blanchard, who's Mary Margaret Blanchard?" Emma asked Madame Mayor.

"Henry's teacher." Madame Mayor said as she looked down at the desk, seemingly in thought. Oh I hope Mary Margaret doesn't get in trouble.

"She's also my guardian." I added.

"Well we need to talk to her, like now." Emma said and then we were headed to the Elementary School. As we got there, the bell rang for recess and the children began rushing out of their classrooms. Like the younger students rushing past us, I still wore my Storybrooke Academy uniform. It consisted of a white button up shirt, black jacket with the Storybrooke Academy emblem on it and two white stripes on the left arm, black and green plaid pleated skirt, and black knee high socks. And while most of the young girls at the elementary school wore flats or tennis shoes, I'd finished my outfit with a pair of Mary Jane heels. Very school girl chic if you asked me.

We followed behind Madame Mayor as she made her way through the children. Even though I was behind her, it was still blatantly obvious that she was incredibly uncomfortable being this close to so many children. I rolled my eyes. I heard Mary Margaret greet the mayor. "Miss Mills, what are you doing here?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Where's my son?" Madame Mayor asked. That woman wastes no time for pleasantries.

"Henry? I assumed he was at home sick with you." Mary Margaret said truthfully.

"You think I'd be here if he was?" Madame Mayor asked rhetorically.

I stepped into the room with Emma and spoke. "Mary Margaret, Henry wasn't in his room this morning. So the last time anyone saw him was when I left to come home last night." I told her as I walked closer to her and Madame Mayor.

"What are you doing here?" Mary Margaret asked me, surprise obvious on her face.

Before I had a chance to reply, Madame Mayor said, "Did you give him your credit card so he could find _her_?" Once again Madame Mayor cuts to the chase.

Mary Margaret glanced over at Emma, who was still lingering by the door. "I'm sorry, who are you?" Mary Margaret asked her.

Emma looked like she didn't know what to say. "I'm his… I'm his…" She stuttered, looking unsure of what to say.

"She's Henry's birth mother." I said bluntly as I took out the clip that had created a bump in my hair and put it in my backpack.

At the same time I spoke, Madame Mayor said, "The woman who gave him up for adoption."

When Mary Margaret slid her purse from her shoulder and began looking through it she sighed. "You don't know anything about this do you?" Emma observed.

"No, unfortunately not." Mary Margaret admitted. She opened up her wallet and, sure enough, her credit card was gone. "Clever boy." She said to herself, with a hint of smile on her face. "I should have never given him that book."

"What in the hell is the book I keep hearing about?" Madame Mayor asked. The aggravation was clear in her voice.

"Just some old stories me and Mary Margaret gave him." I told her. There was no need to tell her that Henry believed it to be true, or that he thought she was The Evil Queen.

"As you well know, Henry is a special boy. So smart, so creative. And as you _might_ be aware, lonely; he needed it." Mary Margaret said. I knew that look on her face; that was the look she got when it seemed like she might fight anyone who challenged her. She was a sweet wonderful woman, but there was a side of her that was a true fighter. Even if she didn't show that side often.

"What he needs is a dose of reality." Madame Mayor corrected. "This is a waste of time." She declared as she turned on her heel and pretty much stormed out, knocking stuff over in the process. "Have a nice trip back to Boston." She said to Emma insincerely and then she was gone.

I immediately went and began picking up the items that Madame Mayor had knocked over, as did Mary Margaret and Emma. "Sorry to bother you." Emma apologized. Alright, if she's nice to Mary Margaret then I'll like her a wee bit better.

"No it's… it's ok; I fear this is partially my fault." Mary Margaret admitted as we handed her the books we'd picked up.

"How's the book supposed to help?" Emma asked her curiously.

"What do you think stories are for?" Mary Margaret asked. "These stories, the classics." She said as she placed the books onto the counter. "There's a reason we all know them. They're a way for us to deal with our world, a world that doesn't always make sense. See Henry hasn't had the easiest life." She said to Emma as we walked out of the classroom.

"Yeah, she's kind of a hard ass." Emma said and I couldn't help but snicker.

"No it's more than her. He's like any adopted child he wrestles with that most basic question they all inevitably face 'Why would anyone give me away?'" She said before abruptly stopping, "I am _so_ sorry. I am so sorry. I didn't mean it in any way to judge you." Mary Margaret apologized and I put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's ok." Emma assured her.

"Look, I gave the book to him because I wanted Henry to have the most important thing anyone _can _have. Hope." Mary Margaret told her.

"Believing in even the _possibility_ of a happy ending is a very powerful thing." I added.

"You two know where he is, don't you?" Emma asked us suddenly.

"You might want to check his castle." Mary Margaret suggested.

"His castle?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, I can take you too it. If that's alright with you, Mary Margaret?" I asked the brunette.

"Just be home before dinner." She said with a smile.

* * *

_Snow White was propped up on the bed in the quarters that she shared with Prince Charming. Her husband stood holding her right hand, as I held onto her left, and Doc stood at the table behind me. She screamed loudly as a contraction ran through her body. "Breathe Snow, please. You have to breathe." I told her as I tried to remain calm. As she screamed again I squeezed her hand. It was never easy to see my best friend in pain._

_"__I can't… have this baby now." Snow cried. _

_"__Doc, do something." Charming pleaded. Doc handed me a wet rag to try and cool Snow. I dabbed the cool, wet rag across her forehead to get rid of the sweat. "It's going to be ok, the wardrobe's almost finished. Just hold on." Charming told her, but I don't really think she can hold on._

_Snow screamed, and screamed as she went through the contractions. Geppetto came in, smiling. "It's ready." He said and motioned for Charming to bring Snow._

_Charming smiled and moved to lift Snow from the bed, when I reached out and touched his arm. I shook my head sadly. "It's too late." I told him._

_"__We can't lift her." Doc confirmed. Snow started to push and soon enough a baby's cry rang through the room. I took the baby Emma from Doc's arms and cleaned her quickly before pressing a kiss onto the baby's forehead._

_"__I have experienced so many things, both good and bad. I know that you won't know why your parents aren't with you and I know that you will miss them. But sweet, Princess Emma, there is something you need to know about your family. They will always find one another. You will see all of us again. If you end up in my world, I wish you all the worlds of luck. Until we meet again." I said as I wrapped the newborn in the blanket that had her name on it. It was something that Snow and I had made._

_I carefully handed the small baby over to Snow. The new mother had tears running down her face. Charming pressed a kiss to his wife's forehead. The new father looked down at Emma, his eyes filled with love and adoration. Snow, however, looked distraught. "The wardrobe…" She said. "It only takes one." A realization formed between the three of us._

_Fighting could be heard clearly down the hallway as I stepped into Charming's embrace. "Then our plan has failed. At least we are together." He said as tears welled up in my eyes. I ran my finger gently over Emma's features. My other hand had taken a tight hold of Charming's shirt. Today I was either going to die, or I would be cursed. Both were terrifying thoughts._

_"__And to think, I would have never met any of you if I hadn't been such a big klutz as to fall down a rabbit's hole." I said sadly. Charming gave me a small sad smile._

_"__I'm glad you did." Snow said. "I don't know what I would do without you." Charming sniffled, but Snow suddenly had a determined look on her face. "No." She declared. "You have to take her." She told Charming. "Take the baby to the wardrobe."_

_"__What?" I asked._

_"__Are you out of your mind?" Charming asked her._

_"__No." Snow said as baby Emma began to cry. "That's the only way you have to safe her." Snow told him._

_"__No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no you don't know what you're saying." Charming tried to say._

_"__No, I do. You _have_to believe she'll come back us. We have to give her, her best chance." Snow said and Charming was on the verge of tears. Charming kissed Emma's forehead as Snow said, "Goodbye Emma." She kissed Emma's forehead as well as she fought back tears. Charming leaned down and kissed Snow before pulling away and going to grab his sword. He looked back at Snow as Emma began to cry again and Snow kept herself together, until he left the room._

_The moment Charming was out of sight, Snow let out a heart wrenching sob and my heart broke. "Snow…" I whispered her name. "Snow, come here." I said as I crawled into the bed and pulled her towards me. She buried her face into my dress as she sobbed. "She'll live." I tried to reassure her. "She'll live, Snow. You saved her." I couldn't stop the tears that began to roll down my cheeks. "You'll see her again, I swear. She's a Charming. Don't you forget that. She'll find you. She will _always _find you."_

* * *

As I led Emma towards Henry's castle, she spoke beside me. "Can I ask you a question?" She asked me. I glanced over at the other blonde to see her looking at me curiously.

After a slight hesitation, I nodded. "Sure." I told her.

"You live with Mary Margaret. You said she was your guardian. Right?" She questioned. I nodded again. "I was just wondering… where are your parents?" If she had been someone that had had a happy childhood I probably would have snapped at her. But she wasn't and I had a feeling that she could relate to what my childhood had been like, for the most part.

"I don't know where they are." I eventually said. "I don't know who they are either. When I was younger, I was on my own. I got in trouble with the police, Graham, a lot. But I did well in school. No one knew that I was on my own until Mary Margaret found out. She took me in when I didn't have a home, or a family, or real friends. I owe her everything. After she took me in, I wasn't in trouble anymore. The stuff I'd steal, were things that I needed. Sometime after that I became Henry's babysitter and he was about as lonely as I had been. So I became more than just his babysitter. I became his big sister, his best friend, and his protector. I'd do anything for him." I explained and she seemed surprised. I guess she figured that I'd had some type of happy childhood.

We approached the castle from the backside. Henry had his back to us. I sat to his left and Emma sat on his right. "You left this in my car." She told him as she handed him his storybook. I hadn't even noticed that she had it. He took it from her without saying a word. I followed his gaze to see that he was staring at the clock tower. "Still hasn't moved huh?" She questioned.

"I was hoping that when I brought you back, things would change here." Henry told her. "That the final battle would begin."

"I'm not fighting any battles, kid." She replied instantly.

Henry finally turned his head to look at her. "Yes you are, you're here because it's your destiny. You're gonna bring back the happy endings." Henry said to her. He seemed quite certain that it was true.

"Can you cut it with the book crap?" She asked.

"Watch it Swan." I warned as I wrapped my arm around Henry's shoulders.

"You don't have to be hostile, I know you like me. I can tell." He told her and I smiled.

"It's impossible to like you munchkin." I said affectionately. He gave me a look and I grinned. "I know, I know, not a munchkin."

"You're just pushing me away because I make you feel guilty." He told her. "It's ok; I know why you gave me away. You wanted to give me my best chance."

Emma got tears in her eyes and looked straight ahead, wringing her hands. "How do you know that?" She asked him.

"Because it's the same reason Snow White gave you away." He said.

"Listen to me kid." She began as she took a deep breath. "I am not in any book. I'm a real person and I am no Savior. You were right about one thing though, I wanted you to have your best chance." She said and I felt myself get teary eyed, I blame Mary Margaret, she made me go soft. "But it's not with me." She told him. "Come on let's go." She pushed herself off the edge of the castle floor.

I dropped to the ground like she did, and I thought it was pretty smooth since heels and sand don't mix really well. Henry scrambled to stand up. "Please don't take me back there." He begged her. "Just stay with me for one week, that's all I ask." He said as he caught up to her. "One week and you'll see I'm not crazy."

"I have to get you back to your mom." She told him as I stood a few feet away.

"You don't know what it's like with her, my life sucks." He said.

"Oh you want to know what sucking is?" She questioned him. "Being left abandoned on the side of a freeway, my parents didn't even bother to drop me off at a hospital. I ended up in the foster system and I had a family until I was three and then they had their own and so they sent me back." She said before taking a deep breath. They both seemed to be on the verge of tears and I was trying desperately to not cry myself. Was she forgetting that I had never had a family until Mary Margaret? I was never even in the system; I was just on my own. Yes, she had it rough, but she isn't the only one. "Look, your mom is trying her best. I know it's hard and I know at times you think she doesn't love you, but at least she wants you." Emma told him.

"Your parents didn't leave you on the side of the freeway. That's just where you came through." Henry informed her.

"What?" She asked him.

"The wardrobe, when you went through the wardrobe you appeared in the street. Your parents were trying to save you from the curse." He said.

She let out a mix between a laugh and cry, "I'm sure they were." She agreed, although she didn't believe it. "Come on Henry." As they turned to walk I joined them again and when Henry wasn't looking she gave me a nod of gratitude. He slipped his hand into Emma's and I wrapped my arm over his shoulders and we walked back through the shore in silence.

* * *

_Snow had finally stopped crying, but something seemed off. She tensed up. "Alice…" She said. "Something isn't right." Snow told me as tried to sit up. "Alice… Alice please. You have to help me get up." She begged and I stood up and walked over to her._

_"__Alright, alright." I said. "Just hold on, you don't need to move too fast." I helped her stand and then she was making her way towards the door unsteadily. Moving over to her, I helped her put one of her arms over my shoulder and I wrapped my arm around her waist to support her. We made our way to the hallway, surprisingly not running into any of The Evil Queen's guards. Slowly, we reached the room with the wardrobe._

_Snow let out a heartbreaking cry. There lay Prince Charming motionless with a blood stain on his shirt. "No." She said as she pulled away from me. "No." Snow held her stomach as she made her way towards him. "Noo." She collapsed where his body lay. I couldn't tell if he was alive or dead. She tried to find a pulse. "No, no, no, no." She whispered. "No, please, please come back to me." Snow begged before she bent down and kissed him. Nothing happened._

_When she kissed him again I said sadly, "Snow, it's not been done by magic. True Love's Kiss can't undo this." I held her shoulder when I suddenly became aware of the sound of heels clicking on the floor. Oh no._

_"__Oh don't worry dear, in a few moments you won't remember you knew him." The Evil Queen said with a victorious smile. "Let alone loved him." She said smugly._

_"__Why did you do this?" Snow asked desperately, tears still trailing down her cheeks._

_"__Because this is my happy ending." The Evil Queen said venomously as she bent down slightly to get in Snow's face. The Evil Queen rose at the sound of her guards' shoes. "The child?" She inquired. I kept a comforting hand on Snow's shoulder as I clasped Charming's lifeless hand. I paid no heed to the fact that my hand was resting in a pool of his blood from the wound he had on his stomach. All I could do now was hope and pray to whoever was listening that Princess Emma was safe._

_"__Gone." The guard replied fearfully and Snow and I simultaneously let out sighs of relief. Emma was safe. "It was in the wardrobe and then it was gone. It's nowhere to be found." If it weren't for the fact that Charming appeared to be dead I probably would have smiled at the Evil Queen's failed attempt to get the princess._

_"__Where is she?" The Evil Queen demanded angrily._

_I summoned all my courage and smirked at her as I sat up straighter. "You will _never_get that baby." I informed her smugly._

_"__She got away." Snow said breathily as she smiled. It was a smile that was both happy and sad at the same time. She looked up at the Evil Queen with confidence. "You're going to lose, I know that now, good will always win." Snow looked down at Charming's expressionless face._

_"__We'll see about that." The Evil Queen said. Her voice was a mix of anger, smugness, and just pure evil. She began to laugh wickedly as everything seemed to get dark and then the ceiling seemed to be getting ripped apart from above us._

_There was a wild wind and flashes of light and I saw the fear in Snow's eyes. "Where are we going?" I asked as I tried to remain calm for Snow._

_"__Somewhere horrible." The Evil Queen said happily. "Absolutely horrible." She said as she held out her arms to embrace the storm. The speed of the wind was picking up, making it harder to breathe. "A place where the only happy ending, will be mine." She said as the windows were smashed and the room was getting destroyed. Everything seemed to go in slow motion at the same time it went quickly. Purple storm clouds enveloped us as I clung to Snow and Charming. Then there was only darkness._

* * *

Madame Mayor opened the door with a blank expression, no relief of Henry being found on her face, and a hand on her hip. I looked down at Henry and gave him a nod before he ran inside, not saying a word to Madame Mayor. I walked with Emma as she stepped towards the front door. "Thank you." Madame Mayor said, although she didn't seem entirely sincere. She sounded more like a politician that had to be polite to keep of the appearance of kindness. Dang, Henry really is getting to me.

"No problem." Emma replied politely. But of course, the one who actually found him gets no thanks. Is it still considered finding if I was almost positive where he was the entire time?

"He's seemed to take quite a shine to you." Madame Mayor said with a strange tone that I couldn't place.

"You know what's kind of crazy, yesterday was my birthday and when I blew out the candle on this cupcake I bought myself, I actually made a wish; that I didn't have to be alone on my birthday. And then Henry showed up." Emma said with a smile, but knowing Madame Mayor I'm sure that she's about to be rude.

"I hope there's no misunderstanding here." Madame Mayor said, but her tone was far from kind.

Emma's smile fell from her face. "I'm sorry?" She asked as I stood in silence and observed.

"Don't mistake all this as an invitation back into his life." Madame Mayor said rudely.

"Oh." Emma said softly as her eyebrows went up.

"Ms. Swan you made a decision ten years ago and in the last decade while you've been… well who knows what you've been doing. I've changed every diaper, soothed every fever, endured every tantrum, you may have given birth to him but he is _my_ son." Madame Mayor said coldly. My eyes narrowed. Emma might not be my favorite person, but that was out of line for the mayor to say. Besides, it was a lie. I could remember several times where I took care of Henry when he was sick because she was off doing whatever the hell it was that she does during the day.

"I was not…" Emma started.

"No, you don't get to speak. You don't get to do anything." Madame Mayor said venomously. "You gave up that right when you tossed him away." She said coldly as she stepped closer to Emma. I glared at her as a sudden urge to protect Emma formed in my chest. Emma did not _toss_ Henry away; she saved him. For a small time I was in a group home, which is where Henry would have ended up, and it was awful. Honestly I don't know if Henry would have been able to survive the group home. "Do you know what a closed adoption is?" She asked Emma rhetorically. "It's what you asked for. You have no legal right to Henry and you're going to be held to that. So I suggest you get in your car and you leave this town. Because if you don't, I will destroy you if it is the last thing I do." The sudden hatred that was boiling in the mayor's eyes was something vaguely familiar. Although I can't remember a time that I've ever seen her look like that. "Goodbye Miss Swan." She said with finality.

The mayor turned and walked towards the door and when she was about to close the door, Emma said, "Do you love him?" It was a simple question and she spoke it softly. My eyes widened in anticipation of the answer.

Madame Mayor stopped immediately and spun on her heel to face Emma. She raised her eyebrows and said, "Excuse me?"

"Henry, do you love him?" Emma repeated. I took a nervous step away from Emma. She was challenging the mayor and I can't remember anyone ever doing that.

"Of course I love him." The mayor replied without blinking. She turned to me. "Stella, are you staying or going?" She asked me calmly.

I kept my composure and said, "I better get back to Mary Margaret." She nodded before turning sharply on her heel and slamming the door shut. "Damn." I said as I let out the breath I didn't know that I'd been holding. "Will you give me a ride?" I asked Emma. Her challenging the mayor had earned some respect from me.

"Yeah." She said before turning to head towards her car. "Where to?" She asked me.

"Hospital." I informed her and she gave me a curious look. "She volunteers there. I do too." I said and she nodded. The ride was quick and silent and I went over the conversation between Emma and the mayor in my head. Once we got to the hospital I offered her my thanks before I headed to where I knew Mary Margaret would be. I found her placing flowers beside the patients. I watched as she walked into John Doe's private room to give him flowers. As she exited the room I reached her. "He's kinda hot you know." I said teasingly as I leaned against the glass to look in at him.

"Stella! He's in a coma." She scolded me.

"Being in a coma doesn't change the way he looks… and he is mighty attractive. If he wakes up, I say you should so go for it." I informed her.

"Stella!" She admonished.

"What?" I asked innocently with a shrug of my shoulders.

"Come on, let's go home." She told me as she wrapped her arm over my shoulders and grabbed her purse.

"Bye Mr. Stud Muffin!" I called over my shoulder to the attractive coma patient.

Mary Margaret whacked me lightly in my stomach with her purse. "Stella, hush, they're sleeping." She told me as we walked outside. I grinned playfully at her before I looked up at the clock tower. I looked up just in time to see the minute hand tick for the first time for as long as I can remember. I smiled and decided to not tell Mary Margaret. She would notice soon enough. Things were changing in Storybrooke. Maybe Henry was right after all.

* * *

**AN: Merry Christmas everyone! For anyone that's reading this story for the first time, I had several chapters posted and decided to start over and rewrite it. I'm trying to get as far ahead of what I post as I can but I wanted to give you guys a Christmas present for being amazing. I hope you guys like it. Give me a review and tell me what you thought.**

**\- Madame Magic**


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